Woman's shooting deemed justified
PARAGOULD -- A Paragould police officer who shot and wounded a woman when she ran at him with a knife earlier this month was justified in his actions, a prosecutor who investigated the case decided.
In a letter released Wednesday evening to the state police's Criminal Investigation Division commander, Lt. Brant Tosh of Jonesboro, 2nd Judicial Circuit Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington wrote that he believed that Cpl. Tim Collins used necessary force to stop Tonya Turner on Dec. 10.
According to the letter, Collins responded to a disturbance call at a Rector Road home in Paragould the morning of Dec. 10.
When Collins arrived, Turner held a knife and ran at him, the letter states. Witnesses said Collins backed up and ordered Turner to stop, but she refused, drawing Collins' fire, the letter states.
Turner was shot twice and was treated for her injuries.
"After our review, this office concludes that [Collins] was justified in using deadly force and that no further review of this matter is necessary," Ellington wrote to Tosh. "I cannot find that officer Collins acted criminally."
Collins had been suspended with pay while the investigation was conducted.
-- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Mabelvale man dies in one-car accident
A Mabelvale man died Wednesday morning in a one-vehicle wreck in Clark County, the Arkansas State Police reported.
Gordon Peck, 58, was driving east in a 2011 Hyundai Sonata on Interstate 30 near mile marker 65 when his vehicle left the roadway, struck a culvert and then went into a wooded area, state police said.
The wreck occurred about 11 a.m, when conditions were rainy, state police said.
-- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Post offices to shut early for holidays
Post offices throughout the state will close early on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, and New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, according to a news release by the United States Postal Service.
Most post offices plan to shorten retail lobby hours and close early on those dates, the release states, adding that revised hours should be posted at each post office. Regular mail delivery will be unaffected by the change.
Post offices in the state will also be closed on Christmas and New Year's Day; however, items sent by Priority Mail Express will be delivered those days, according to the release.
Post offices will reopen the Friday after both holidays.
-- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Inmate dies 2 days after found hanging
NEWPORT -- An inmate died two days after a suicide attempt, Arkansas prison officials said Thursday.
Department of Correction spokesman Dina Tyler said Jesse James, 29, of Conway died Wednesday night at a hospital where he was taken after being found hanging from a bedsheet in his cell at the Grimes Unit in Newport.
He was serving a 15-year sentence for theft and burglary in Faulkner County.
Tyler said guards found James hanging and unconscious in his cell about 9 p.m. Monday and that he never regained consciousness.
James' body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory to determine the exact cause of death.
-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ex-Tulsa policeman to be tried in slaying
TULSA -- A former Tulsa police officer has been ordered to stand trial on a charge that he killed his daughter's boyfriend.
The Tulsa World reported that a judge on Thursday ordered Shannon James Kepler, 54, to trial on a first-degree murder charge, along with two counts of shooting with intent to kill.
Police said Kepler shot Jeremey Lake to death in August. Prosecutors said Kepler also fired shots at his own daughter, Lisa Kepler, and Lake's brother. Lisa Kepler had recently been kicked out of her house.
Shannon Kepler had been a Tulsa police officer since 1990 and was a training officer at the department's police academy. He retired at the end of October.
Nine witnesses were lined up to testify Thursday, but prosecutors only called three, including Lisa Kepler.
-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tax miscalculations upset school funds
TULSA -- Oklahoma's schools' superintendent said miscalculations in the state's school funding formula since 1992 will soon cause a number of mid-year adjustments worth millions of dollars.
The Tulsa World reported Friday that a Ponca City school official had noted that a state law caps agricultural and commercial personal property taxes at 11 percent. State Superintendent Janet Barresi said the cap has not been in place.
Barresi said some districts will see an increase in state funding while others will see a drop. The Oklahoma Tax Commission said new calculations won't be available until next month. Midyear adjustment figures are due Jan. 15.
Ponca City Superintendent David Pennington told the newspaper that he first raised the issue a decade ago, but no one in local or state governments understood the problem.
-- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NW News on 12/20/2014